Back yard update

The first step in our back-yard re-do is complete, with just one day of hard work!  After a trip to Lowe's to grab all the supplies, they worked all day building this little beauty.

The final product looking shiny after being sprayed down to get rid of mud! 

The workers admiring their work

The hard work and the addition of the new deck really inspired us to get to work making the backyard all we want it to be.  We are excited to see the transformation over the next few weeks/months and hopefully by early summer, we'll have a big cookout to celebrate!

Last weekend, I worked most of the day painting the shed we built two years ago back when we originally started working on improving the yard by extending our fence to meet the neighbors and adding the storage building.  It fits in with the house a lot better now that it is painted a light gray with white trim to match the house.  

Shed after painting!

My dad is working on putting up lattice around the bottom of the deck and it is almost complete, so more pictures to come when he's all done!

Today it's off to buy some plants, and if the weather holds up, get started planting them and getting the natural areas around the edge of the yard looking good!   Locally, we are under a tornado watch for most of the morning AND they're calling for scattered thunderstorms all day, so we are praying the storms will either pass us by completely or come and go in a hurry without causing too much damage!

Back Yard Re-do..... And so it begins!

Today marks the beginning of a big undertaking for us.  We're FINALLY getting started with our backyard re-do!  In fact, as I type, Ryan and Todd are off at Lowe's shopping for supplies for our new deck addition.  We currently have a back deck that leads down into the yard, but it isn't really big enough to hold both a grill and seating area.

We once thought that we wanted to put in a patio, but based on the way the ground slopes, we determined it would be much easier, and less expensive, to add on a lower level deck.    The weather isn't really cooperating, the forecast is calling for rain around lunch time today, so not sure how much progress will be made before it rolls in.

I'm going to try and document the whole process here on the blog, so here are some "BEFORE" pics of the back yard:

Side view of current deck 

The new deck will be in the dirt area off the steps of the current deck.  Hopefully then we'll get the grill moved down onto the new deck and purchase a table and chairs to enjoy our new back yard!

View from top back corner of yard

View from front corner down to shed (added 2 years ago after the fence extension)

We plan to add a bed with some shrubs down the side fence seen above.

View from shed of back of house

 Once the new deck is added, we plan to put a bed around the bottom of the current deck with knockout roses and some shrubs over to the right of the deck where the yard slopes down a lot!

View of other side fence and top back corner

View of back fence from deck area

 Also, going to add another bed and plants along the back fence.  AND, need to paint the shed gray with white trim to match the house.

And, a cute face that loves to play in the yard :)

He'll be glad when all this work is done an he isn't trapped in the house!!

I'm up early.....

Well, as you know, I'm generally ALWAYS up early, but today has a lot in store.  I'm super excited about all of it, too!

First things first, I've got to get to the store and grab a few things to make dessert for tonight's supper club.  I'm thinking a strawberry trifle (because nothing says spring/summer like a nice strawberry dessert!)

Then, today is the day we start planning the big back-yard re-do.  Todd (my friend Andrea's husband) is coming over to scope out the job and give us some ideas and price quotes on what we want done.  You can definitely expect some BEFORE, PROGRESS, and AFTER pictures coming your way in the next few weeks as we get this thing started.  

Finally, this afternoon I'll be hopping in the car with my sister to go meet THE PIONEER WOMAN!  I'm beyond excited about this.   We are going to Evans, GA (outside of Augusta) and hopefully we'll get our books signed by and some pictures taken with PW, herself!   AND, shamelessly, we are taking along my nephew, because if you've ever read her blog, PW cannot resist an adorable baby!

Happy Saturday!!!!